I’m a massive fan of cleansing mousses. There are just so many things to like! I’m a Lazy Girl™, and cleansing mousses are a Lazy Girl™‘s dream:
Quick and easy – You know the nights when you can’t be bothered washing off smudged dancefloor makeup? Well, there’s no excuse with a cleansing mousse – it lathers up by itself. One pump and you’re set.
Wash off cleanly – Most cleansers need rubbing to wash off – the mousses I’ve used come off with splashing. Even after 10+ years, I haven’t gotten the hang of washing my face over the sink sans washcloth without getting a bucketload of water down my front – I have to wash my face in the shower (tips and tutorials welcome). Anything that comes off easily is a godsend for sink washing.
Last forever – So far my mousse cleansers have lasted forever, despite looking thin in the bottle. This is probably because the pump head lathers up so much more efficiently than I do. Thanks technology for adding to my inferiority complex!
My first mousse was Neutrogena’s Deep Clean Invigorating Ultra-Foam Cleanser and I loved it to bits – it made my face feel squeaky clean, but was too drying. It lasted a year of daily use, which is ridiculous value. Annoyingly, there weren’t any other drugstore cleansing mousses readily available when I ran out, so I brought one home from Hong Kong – Neutrogena Hydro Boost Mousse Cleanser. While it wasn’t drying, I wasn’t a fan of the scent. And yes, I use it twice a week and there’s still 2/3 left after 18 months. Oy vey!
So I was very excited when I saw Nivea’s new offerings: not one, but two cleansing mousses! Finally! The Daily Essentials Soothing Cleansing Mousse (pink) is recommended for dry and sensitive skin and contains almond oil, while the Refreshing Cleansing Mousse (blue) is formulated for combination and oily skin with extra vitamin E. Both contain Nivea’s Hydra IQ formula, the details of which deserves a post in itself and involves Nobel Prize-winning science – essentially, it hydrates skin from both the surface and within, mimicking the skin’s natural water channels.
I’ve only tried the Refreshing version, and it has a pleasant scent and is surprisingly mild – I guess if it lathers itself, you don’t need any strong surfactants that bubble but also strip oils from skin. The pump head makes a lovely thick lather, and one pump is more than enough for my whole face. It washed off easily, and like it claims, it left my skin feeling hydrated and soft, which I didn’t expect from a cleanser. A bit of rubbing with my fingers was enough to get BB cream off my face. I’m not sure yet on how long the bottle will last, but so far it doesn’t look like I’ve made much of a dent in it. So it ticks all the boxes for me!
What do you like in a cleanser? Have you found one that works for you?
Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Cleansing Mousses retail for $9.98 for a 150 mL self-foaming pump bottle and is available wherever you find Nivea (Priceline, supermarkets, pharmacies).
I use Dove’s Foaming Make up Remover which is really really good! Must try this nivea one!
I haven’t seen that one yet, I’ll definitely look out for it 🙂
I’m still hunting for an amazing cleanser for my skin, it’s too damn picky!!
The hunt never ends – I’ve found a foaming cleanser, but I still need a night cream… sigh!
I like to clean my face 2x, once for makeup (Esp BB cream) and the second to clean my skin so it’s ready for my next step.
The idea of a foaming cleanser is fun, but I’d want to know how drying this product is because it might be too harsh to use in tandem with another cleanser. What do you think?
This cleanser is surprisingly less drying than any other bubbling sort of cleanser I’ve used – generally, the foamier something is, the more drying it is (the same stuff – surfactant – that makes bubbles is also good at stripping the skin). But because the foaming head incorporates air into the liquid much better than rubbing with your hands can, weaker/less surfactants are needed in a foaming cleanser to get heaps of bubbles. After cleansing my skin usually feels tight unless I moisturise it right away, but I didn’t get any tightness with this one 🙂
Whoa, great answer! I love the description you give.
I’m curious, have you ever used an oil cleanser then this cleanser? If so how did that feel (drying, tight?)?